A Dread in the Spine - Episode 4

 

 Chloe sat still in fear and could only wish the presence of her Pastor's wife, Mrs. Fowosere alias Mummy Church, would crush her fear of the unknown, of the numerous troubles that had wrapped themselves around her mind. She had jumped from a horrible dream some minutes before Nosa entered the house. Of late, she had been having a constant terrible dream . The recurring dream always featured her going to the lake of fire, being drawn by the evil force of the dreadful place because she gave birth to a child out of wedlock. Probably, that was the reason God made her lose the child. 
When she first had the dream, she wasn't sure she had dreamt right. However, when the dream became constant, she was very sure she was it wasn't a figment of her imagination. Dismissing it would have been the top on her mind, but she had read about people that had revelations of hell through dreams. Maybe she was becoming part of those who saw hell. She needed to talk to someone.
That particular day, the dream went on to show the lights of twenty-four people in Greenland. Initially, she thought it was the number of genuine Christians in Fortunecity, but soon discovered that those were the numbers of those that had seen heaven in Greenland. She might have misunderstood it, but she saw the exact number of the missing women gathered in a corner

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. Three had gone out and the others were fizzling out. However, she saw three others at different locations and hoped those ones would be safe.
She wished one of them would do her good and tell her about heaven and the exact day God would return to the saint. She had meticulously followed their teachings. They were good but she needed one of them to tell her about heaven.
‘These things we face per time as Christians, Mummy Church said as she rolled her good hand around the cup. Chloe wondered how she managed to work with one hand. She wasn't sure she as a person would be able to bear it.
Indeed, the lack of knowledge plays a part, though.
How?
Not having full access to some knowledge is distraughting.
Mummy Church nodded in agreement as she stared into space. I just felt led to visit you to maybe, be here with you in this trying time.
Chloe smiled warily. She wasnt concerned about her grief. It did her no good. Even and despite knowing about Nosas mistress, Shayla, she preferred to move on with her life than to watch her life drain off her. There were many things she needed to know about heaven. The Bible made her know that only God knows when the kingdom of God would be upon them soon, but he never keeps anything from his saints. Yet, there she was, grasping for a knowledge that had eluded the world.
Suddenly, Mummy Churchs phone rang. She struggled with her wallet, where the phone was. Chloe rose to help her get it, but she smiled broadly and shook her head. Chloe understood her and sat back. She would have been defiant, but she preferred to watch Mummy Church as she struggled with her wallet. It took her a while, but in a few seconds, Mummy Church had removed the phone and was already talking as she excused herself to go outside. Chloe watched her leave, hoping Mummy Church would succeed in taking her mind off whatever was happening. 
She rose to tend to her flowers in a vase by the window side. Maybe doing that would take her mind off the horrendous turbulence bound for the earth. If what those women said about the soon coming of Christ was true, then she needed to brace herself as well as others.
Why are you calling me? Mummy Church said, whispering.
Chloe focused on the blade of the flowers and proceeded to remove the weeds sprouting in the vase. That was how the final day would be; yet, people can recruit others in preparation for that day.
Stop calling me? Im around people. I told you. Me and you The police? No. When we know the right person to trust.
That piqued Chloe's interest. She stood straight and perched after she had scurried to the door. Why was Mummy Church fusing herself with a case that would lead to the police? That portended that she was involved in something illegal, and it would do her no good to dip herself into anything that would stain her white linen as a Christian. Chloe had to be sure about what Mummy Church was doing before she even gave her any advice on how to remain in the path of God.
Whats wrong with you, Mummy church said and her voice showed a deep sense of frustration mixed with anger. Do you want to die or do you want those kidnappers to carry you too? Whats wrong with you?  I will get back to you when Stay where you are. No. Don't even try rubbish. Stay where you are'.
Mummy Church hissed. Chloe ran to her seat, sat and rose the moment the door opened. Mummy Church looked perplexed.
Is everything alright?
 That depends on which everything you mean? Chloe said in a manner that would present her as dejected. I want to tend to my flower. Its been calling for mummy since but I dont have its time. I wanted it to have a taste of hunger as human beings do.
Her cat meowed as it entered the sitting room.  She turned it and perfectly mimicked its sound. Hey, Joel, come here. Have you greeted Mummy Church? Chloes cat stretched. She smiled at it. Lazy Joel.
Mummy Church laughed wryly. You and giving non-humans names. Well, you are showing fulfilling your purpose like God allowed Adam to do by naming animals in Genesis two verse twenty and twenty-one.
Chloe smiled warily. Thats cool, being called a child of Adam: its comforting.
No. I dont mean it in a harmful way
She shrugged. Of course, I know. Its just that Im not a man and not a woman. So, I wont fall into his error of falling for a woman.
Mummy laughed and went silent for a while. 'There
What? Chloe turned and looked at her inquisitively. 'Do you think I have the chance of falling to a man?
Oh! Woman.
Chloes stared at her and watched her eyes danced within its socket. Im not gay. Im straight and Im not a lesbian.
Of Course. I wasnt thinking of that. Youre a child of God. You have retained God in your heart so he wont give you up to the perdition of the world.
Chloe sighed. Good
But you are a woman and you can do worse than Adam... A whole lot.
What do you mean?
I mean. She said and sat up well. Lets take Adam for example. He was doing fine in the Bible and obeyed Gods commandment but things changed.
Yes. Satan polluted him.
No, he was given Eve.
Yes. His bottle of urine. To tend to
Good but when he wanted to lose her or when he perceived that she had sinned. Instead of separating himself like Jesus in Hebrew one nine, he committed a sin because of her. Thats why the Bible records that Adam sinned and not Eve. She was deceived intobut he deliberately sinned.
Oh! I still don't see where they intertwine. How is that my case?
You are I dont know but Im sensing that youre afraid of the future Like Adam. I'm sensing you're still afraid of that sin you committed before you finally gave your life to Christ.
 Chloe felt her mouth go dry like Brooks in the dry season. Me? Afraid? Im not afraid. Maybe you are thinking so because Im preparing for heaven. The Bible says we should prepare. See, I'm not proud of it, but I committed a sin by fornicating with my boyfriend, who later became my husband, and I've seen the repercussion.
Of course. But not in a way that is harmful to our health and emotions. God has forgiven you.
'For my mother too, I know. But there is always a reward'.
'Things clear off when you're in Christ. All sins are cleared'.
'But Mummy Church, my mother died through my hand. She was already a Christian at that time', Chloe said and heaved because she was finally able to talk about her mother, who died because she gave birth to her, an unwanted, born-out-of-wedlock child. 'That's her reward. There's always a reward'.
'That's also one of the things you've stopped tackling. You can see that you need to see a psychiatrist.  You're not fine. I'm sorry if I sound rude'. 
Chloe laughed. Mummy Church o. Im fine.
See, Adam knew that Eve had fallen into error. But he was afraid of being alone. It was like a torture for him. You Maybe youre afraid of not making heaven Of-ofErm. Being left alone.
Shouldnt we all be prepared?
We should'.
Chloe grabbed her scissors and pruned the edges of her flowers. That would help her hide her shaking hands from Mummy Church, who made it her duty to frustrate her. There was no way she would have the same fear as Adam. She was definitely putting things in store for the archive of heaven and that wasnt fear; that was prudence. There were no other words to what she was doing than that. The Bible and Jesus said we should watch and pray. She was a watchman but not for the town; for herself.
Mummy Church rose. I need to leave. But your husbandSome other people too had been whispering to my husband that you need to cry, to grieve and I cant help but agree with them.
Mummy, God giveth and taketh away. I just want to prepare for the future.
Mummy Church smiled as she edged towards her. Chloe looked at her and craved to have her tan skin. It made her look elegant in the long dark green gown she wore. The flowery pattern on the clothes called her attention and she loved to have a perfectly designed life like that of the cloth. 
'This dress is beautiful'.
Mummy Church blushed. 'It's the work of our own Havilah Couture. You know her now?'
'Of course. That fair tall beautiful lady. So, she is a tailor? I never knew'.
'She is. I even saw her taking a picture of your dress last week. As in, that your dress was extremely beautiful'.
'Aww awn. I got it from our Hadassah'.
'Hadassah! The five-k store. My sister, I need to go'.
'Maybe Or what do you think?' 
Whats that?
Me? Nothing much. I was just thinking about how it would be good to follow you. Maybe it would help me.
‘Oh that would be good. But I have to attend to something important first. When I return from my From the person I want to meet, then we can go out together.
Hope all is well?’
Sure. All will always be well with Christians, she smiled as she neared the door, and adjusted her headgear. 
That means, I can follow you?
 Mummy Church bit her lower lips, stared at Chloe for some seconds and shrugged as she turned towards the door. You can come, but I hope it wont be stressful for you.
Stressful, you say? Remember my husband had been disturbing the whole world that Im not myself. I think this is the perfect way I can do it and prove to him that I have come to the realization: God giveth and He taketh. Also, I should follow the advice of this other lady that speaks about relationships, Bimbzspeak. She said when our spouse is having issues with us and the issue coincides with what others are saying about us, then we are the one at fault. Or dont you think heeding to that is wise?
Of course. We should be able to break out of our shell.
Mummy, are you sure everything is alright?'
Mummy church stared at her for a moment and rubbed her forehead repeatedly and nodded as If she wasn't sure. Chloe had to take all the restraint in the world to show how happy she was. Now, there was an opportunity to help someone back to the way of Christ. Mummy Church was definitely trailing from something that wasn't of God, and she would be on her neck till she returned to God's way. She was happy with her present feeling. It felt like gold to her. So precious. So cool. She wouldnt let it slip off her hand to the ground, where it might be trampled upon or get the fate of every rusty instrument. Getting people back to the way of God was a medium of making herself happy. She wouldn't give it up for anything.
Ill be back, Chloe said and ran into the room. A simple gown would do. That was why Hadassah and Konga Nigeria would forever top her mind when it came to gown. The times of things showed that if she wasnt fast about knowing what was happening, she might be one of those left behind on earth. 
Within few minutes, they were in her car. Mummy Church had always insisted on driving herself, but her husband, the Pastor, would never agree to her desire. He said he could go to the length of getting her a driver, which she blatantly refused. So, she always transported herself through bikes and public transports or when the Pastor himself took her out.
  'Are you sure youre you alright?'
Mummy church nodded. Chloe smirked and drove off into the road. When she glanced at the rearview mirror, she saw the three acne that invaded her face. They were getting red and she was sure, one of them would give up in the fight against one another. Yet, she was sure she wouldn't be the one to give up on them. She would make sure she used everything available in making sure they disappeared and never reappeared on her face. 
Then, she saw her nosy neighbor waving for her to stop, but she couldn't because their path might not clash. If it was someone like Chloe's Aunt, such woman would have evicted the estate.
They journey through the beautiful roads of Greencity was mesmerizing and felt as if she was going through the grandeur of heaven. Various horrific posters punctuated the different places they passed, and she would have longed for it to be removed if they weren't about hell. She glanced at Mummy Church several times as she tried hard not to fidget. Although she didn't love to put the poor woman in such position, she still needed to help her return to her position of peace. 
Mummy Church placed a call to whomever she wanted to meet and told her to meet them at Greencity General Hospital. She wished it also was privatized, she would have gotten a share of it like she did most major companies in Fortunecity and Nigeria. When they got there, they waited a while.
'Hope the person isn't in need of money?' Chloe said as she tried desperately to reduce her intake of the smell of antiseptic, which she detested.
Mummy Church shook her head and tried to smile, but she could only do that while wheezing. She scanned everywhere to be sure the person was not hiding from them, but they saw no one. Mummy Church repeatedly placed a call to the person, but the person refused to pick up the call. Mummy Church rose from her seat and began to move from one place to another. After a little while, she moved outside, and Chloe followed her. Mummy Church looked from one end to another and kept replying Chloe in the negative as regarding fear of any problem. Chloe was sure she could smell trouble, and that Mummy Church might soon lash out at her angrily for being nosy. Maybe she should stop. 
Then, someone tapped her. Chloe turned to face her nosy neighbor, who was cuddling her black chubby daughter in her hands. Her clothes were hanging off her shoulder, not because she was a fashionista but because her fashion sense was horrible.
'Mrs. Kings', she said, and Chloe hissed as she knew she would have to talk with the spittle in her mouth. The woman was one of the few people that still called her Mrs. Kings, which she detested as it reminded her of so many unbearable things. Chloe turned to her with a stiff smile and exchanged pleasantries with her. 
'I was calling you. I saw your car and was waving at it'.
'Oh! I'm sorry. I thought you were calling someone else'.
Luckily for her, the woman was called by someone else. The nosy woman shouted her excitement and scurried off to meet a scrawny, short, fair woman. She didn't need another nudge to return home because her father-in-law called that he had gotten home. He called her earlier that he would be coming to their house, not to rest, but because his friend had caused trouble for him. His friend, a Pastor, from Brown Valley, visited him in Edo, and told him that God gave him a duty to do something very important, and requested for a secretive place to do such a thing. Since they were both friends and respected men of God, he gave his friend a place that was deep in the forest. After some days, he visited his Pastor-friend and heard the sounds of wild animals in the said place. When he asked his friend about it, he said God asked him to do that. 
Seeing this, he took it upon himself to report his friend to the friend's church and to get people working in a Fortunecity Zoo, to get the animals out of the place. Seeing that people were already gossiping about the issue, his other children, Nosa's younger ones, sent him to Greencity to rest for a few days, and to take his mind off the case.
'Mummy, I hope all is well. I have to leave to meet my father-in-law'.
Mummy Church nodded as if she was glued to the seat, and that she was trying not to cry. Chloe followed her unstable eyes with her own eyes but didn't see anything worth her time. Yet, that behavior was unlike that of Mummy Church, who would have wanted to know why her father-in-law was visiting, and might probably have requested that he came around to her own house. When she looked at Mummy Church's face, she was very sure she could hear her heave, but duty came first. 
She rose and left with Mummy Church's goodbye trailing after her. Whatever she was hiding could cause her a great deal of trouble, but since Chloe didn't have the power to stop it again, she would pray for her. She would tell God to help Mummy Church not to fall into perdition and drag the sanctimonious name of the Fowosere in the mud.
She spat out the saliva, entered her car and drove out of the compound with a heavy heart, and hoped to warm a good food for her father-in-law. Luckily any food one wanted had already been prepared by her house help and had been stored in a freezer. 
 Then, she remembered that she wasn't aware of how Mummy Church would get to her house. Even if she suspected she was about to do something bad, she still had to play her part in making sure her own love for the woman didn't wane. She didn't want to assume she had the money necessary to get home without much trouble. So, she parked the car by the side of the road and jumped out of it with her purse bundled in her hand. She shouldn't be keeping her father-in-law waiting, but it wouldn't be ideal to also leave like that.
Chloe ran to the place they sat, wishing she could just get there and return to her car within seconds. However, the seat was empty, and Mummy Church wasn't anywhere near the bench. She was surprised. 
'Ehn Ehn' Shouted her Nosy street neighbor, making Chloe towards her. The woman, whose wrapper was slipping and baby was crying, desperately tearing at her mother's cloth. 
'You left like that', the woman said and tied her wrapper well. 'I saw that other Mummy you were together, and she said you have gone'.
'She went to the toilet?'
'Yes. That's even true. She had been gone for a while. She went with another woman. I hope all is well?'
'Thank you. Thank you very much', Chloe whispered as she scurried off. 'See me at home'.
'When?'
Chloe rushed off to the toilet, and would have shouted Mummy Church if the place wasn't smelling of antiseptic. She held her breathe and moved towards the toilet until she got near the toilet. By this time, she was already hoarding spittle in her mouth, and hoped to spit it out the moment she got the chance.
'Mummy, I have to go to them', a lady said.
'Where do you want to go?'
'I'm coming out of hiding'.
'Patience. The Bible says though the vision might tarry, it would yet'
'Mummy Church, it's not that type of vision'.
'Are you calling the Bible a lie?'
'This one is the vision of heaven and God wants it'.
'What What are you saying? Did God show you visions of heaven too?'
'He showed me hell Heaven. Heaven. Hell. What does it matter?'
'Hope you're not hiding the truth?'
'Mummy, whatever the truth is, I want it out'.
'I'll make sure'
They became silent for a while. Chloe suspected they were trying to check out if someone was there. So, she removed her shoes, picked them, and ran away silently at first, then wildly.

Read " Lost But Satisfied " by the same author ( Akíntayo Akinjide )

. Then, she ran into her nosy neighbor again, who almost fell.
'Mummy, when should I come?'
'This evening. But I would give you something bigger if you can go towards the toilet and turn'.
'Just that'? 
Chloe always knew the woman's problem - money. The woman excitedly moved towards the toilet and turned.
Chloe rushed to her car. She just heard of someone that went to heaven. There was no way she would leave Mummy Church to such case alone. But for now, she needed somebody to watch her. 
As soon as she entered the car, she dialed Segun's phone number and relayed her fear to him. And she instructed him on how she hoped he could save the woman by watching her. Segun was someone that ran into their house on one of those days he was being pursued by the Police. She allowed him hide in her compound till they were gone, and she talked some sense into his head, and she made him know that she was ready to provide everything he would ever need, so far he would always do her bid. And he had been doing that.
She drove off to welcome her father-in-law.